Alle Kapitel von The Vampire's Human Bride: Kapitel 41 – Kapitel 50

Winter’s POV“Too tight.” The maid behind me ignored me and pulled the laces of my dress again.I sucked in a sharp breath as the bodice tightened around my ribs. “I said it’s too tight.”Her hands finally stopped.Our eyes met through the mirror. “My apologies, Your Highness.” Her voice was polite, but the look in her eyes was anything but. “Human bodies seem to be much more delicate than ours. I’m still getting accustomed to it.”I stared at her reflection. There it was again. That same little reminder.'Human'. She never seemed to tire of saying it.The other maid standing beside me lowered her gaze, pretending to be far more interested in arranging the pins on the dressing table.The youngest of the three shifted uncomfortably near the wardrobe.Ever since they were assigned to serve me, they have have made it their personal mission to remind me that I did not belong here. They don't even bother to at least pretend that they were just forced to serve me. At first, they served me

Winter’s POVTheir pleas filled the room as the guards dragged them away. The doors slammed shut behind them, and at last, silence returned to my chambers.I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on the closed doors.“How long have they been doing this?” Mavros’s voice came from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts.I turned to face him. He was slowly walking around the room, his gaze drifting over everything as though he were taking in every detail.I pretended not to understand. “Doing what?”Mavros finally looked at me. “Winter.”The way he said my name made it clear he wasn’t going to let me avoid the question.I looked away. “She made comments sometimes,” I whispered.“What kind of comments?”“It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s gone.”“It matters to me.” His answer came so quickly that I fell silent.Mavros seemed to realize it too, because something in his expression shifted, but he didn’t take the words back.“She was never exactly pleasant,” I answered hesitantly.“How long?”“Since I

Winter’s POVThree vampires stood before me, waiting to be chosen. Mavros had kept his word.By the very next day, he had already prepared the candidates for me to choose from.I had asked Lara and Dane to join me in the selection. I wanted to know what they thought too, especially since whoever I chose wouldn't just be working for me. She would also have to work closely with them, and I wanted someone all three of us could trust.The three women were unmistakably vampires.Their skin was too pale, their movements too graceful, their expressions too carefully controlled.The first appeared to be somewhere in her thirties, although I had already learned that guessing a vampire's age by appearance was foolish. Her dark hair was pulled into a severe knot, and she stood with the perfect posture of someone who had spent years serving noble households.The second looked younger. Her dark hair framed a composed face, and there was something polished about the way she carried herself, as thou

Winter’s POVCelene and Maris were dismissed shortly after I made my decision, and neither looked particularly pleased about it.Celene hid her disappointment well, offering me a graceful curtsy before leaving with the same composed expression she had worn throughout the interview.Maris was less subtle. Her lips tightened when the guard announced that Nessa would remain, but she still bowed respectfully before following Celene out.Nessa, however, hadn’t moved.She stood exactly where she had been during the interview, staring at me as though she still couldn’t believe what had happened.“Are you sure about me, Your Highness?” she asked. “I’m inexperienced compared to them. I might only disappoint you.”Her nervousness was obvious in the way she clasped her hands tightly together.“Do you want to know why I chose you, Nessa?”She looked at me expectantly.“I’m not looking for someone who can impress me or serve me perfectly. I grew up without a personal servant. I know how to do most

Winter’s POVI woke up early that morning and went straight to the kingdom’s library to study for the court meeting happening in three days.Hours had already passed, yet I still hadn’t even finished one book.My brows pulled together as I forced myself to focus on the thick book in front of me.It explained the structure of the vampire government, but it had been written so long ago that some of the words were barely used anymore. Even though it was written in the same language, I still found myself rereading the same lines just to understand what they meant.“Here, you need to read this too. It’s about court procedure, so you’ll know what to expect during the meeting,” Lara said as she placed another thick book on top of the stack beside me.I stared at the pile, which was already nearly as tall as I was while sitting down.How was I supposed to read all of that in three days?I had barely made it through one book, and I was already worried that none of the information would stay i